


You’ll Just Have To Prove Them Wrong

by fiction_before_reality



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-18 16:42:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11294631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiction_before_reality/pseuds/fiction_before_reality
Summary: For the damereyevents summer exchange:for micsmays1031The prompt I chose was ‘Rey as a new pilot for the Resistance under Poe’s wing.’





	You’ll Just Have To Prove Them Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> What I actually did was … roughly 7500 words leading up to Poe and Rey being badass pilots together. I will be continuing this soon, but in the meantime, here goes. Comments, prompts and constructive criticisms are all welcome!

The first time Rey met Poe, they were celebrating. Finn had talked about him, of course, but she hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting the infamous pilot that had Finn all abuzz. And now that she was finally meeting him, Finn was in the infirmary and they had no idea when he’d wake up.

All of the higher-ups were standing around in the control room. Poe was on one side of General Organa, Rey was on the other. Poe gave BB-8 the data chip with the map, and the droid projected it into the air, fitting it perfectly with the map R2 was already projecting.

“The map—it is complete!” one of the techs exclaimed.

Instantly, the room was ringing with laughter, shouts of joy. Rey just barely heard General Organa softly say, “Luke.” Her face showed relief, the lines that were normally stern relaxing for just a moment.

The energy of the room was infectious. Pilots, mechanics, and officers alike were patting each other on the back, riotous shouts filling the air. Rey spun around with a smile on her face to hug Finn, forgetting that he wasn’t there. Instead, she wound up pressed against the man she knew to be Poe.

“Hi,” he said, looking down at her with a grin, but a hint of nerves in his voice as well.

“Hi,” she replied, out of breath from the sudden feeling of being this _close_ to another person.

“I’m Poe Dameron.” Poe said awkwardly, stepping back to run his hand through his hair.

“I know,” Rey said before she could think better of it. She coughed to hide her blunder.

“I see Finn’s been talking me up.” Poe’s grin was a bit more sure now, and Rey felt herself relaxing in the safety of it.

“I’m Rey.”

It was Poe’s turn to say, “I know. Everyone knows the name and face of the girl who saved the Resistance with the help of a defected Stormtrooper and two smugglers no one has seen in years. Also, I heard you beat the shit out of Kylo Ren, and I have a vested interest in all things relating to Kylo Ren getting the shit beat out of him.”

Rey wasn’t used to the Force and all of the things that it came with yet, but she could feel the dark cloud surrounding Poe. She could see the single bead of sweat drip down his hairline, the way his hands shook and the force he used to clench them together. He glanced nervously around, and Rey slowly put her hand on his arm, giving him plenty of time to pull away. His eyes locked with hers, and she saw the desperation in them.

Rey led Poe out of the command center and down the one sequence of corridors she knew—to the outside. Poe breathed a bit easier once they were in the open air. They stood there for a minute before Rey said, “Let’s take a seat.”

She surveyed the area before leading Poe to a stone wall, climbing to the top and swinging her legs over the side. Rey kept a reassuring hand on Poe’s arm or shoulder the entire time, trying to keep him grounded.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked gently. Poe shook his head, jaw tense. “Do you mind if I do?” Poe looked off into the distance, but eventually shook his head again, still mute.

Rey stared at the ground below them as she started, “I’ve lived on a desert planet as long as I can remember, I’ve been injured more times than I can count, I’ve seen people die of disease and starvation because they can’t work and I’ve been too powerless to help. All of that was wiped away in that moment, making way for the blinding pain unlike I’ve ever felt.” She sighed, closing her eyes and holding a bit tighter to Poe’s arm.

“That was the moment that really connected me to the Force. I guess I’ve sort of felt it all my life, but I didn’t really know what it was. There were things before that, this whole big thing at Maz Kanata’s, but there was this surge in the Force when Ren pushed into my head. It started with all of the souls of the people Kylo Ren has killed calling out to me, letting me feel their anguish.

“When I pushed back, the pain got worse, the voices got louder, but I could feel his presence. I knew I couldn’t let him get the map, so I pushed.” Rey’s eyes were closed, so she couldn’t see the awed look on Poe’s face, the way his eyes traced the planes of her face.

“ _‘You know I can take whatever I want,’_ he said. It wasn’t just about the map. I felt his emotions through the Force. His obsession with me. He did it again, later, _‘You need a teacher,’_ he said, as if I were a wayward child.” Rey coughed, opened her eyes.

“So it might not be exactly what you went through, but you have someone here if you need it.” She forced a small grin. “Besides, from what I’ve heard we’re the only two people who have made it out of Kylo Ren’s torture alive, so there’s that.”

Poe grabbed her hand off his shoulder and held it in his own, trying to send reassurances through the Force. He had no idea if that was a thing, but it was worth a shot. Then he turned and lay down so that he was stretched along the top of the wall. Rey laughed and did the same, hands still lightly connected, reassuring both of them that the other was really there.

“So,” Rey broke the silence after a moment, “I just realized that I don’t know anything about you except the little bit that Finn told me.”

Poe laughed, “And here I know the deepest and darkest parts of your mind.” Rey rolled her eyes, using her free hand to smack him lightly on the head. “Fine, fine,” he gave in. “I grew up on Yavin-IV. My parents were in the old Resistance, back when the Empire was in power. When I was growing up, my mom had an A-Wing that she let me work on with her from the time I could toddle around. When I was old enough, she taught me how to fly.” His eyes drifted shut, remembering the first time he went up, the spots of grass he could just barely see between the trees, the lake just beside his house as seen from the sky, the feeling of freedom from inside the cockpit, as if there were nothing between him and the air.

“When did you learn to fly?” Poe asked, eyes open again and staring into the endless expanse of space.

Rey chuckled. “Here’s the thing … I didn’t. I’ve spent most if not all of my life scavenging parts, living day to day. When I took apart ships and cruisers, it helped to know what was what so that I knew if I was going to get to eat that night. I learned all of the names of everything, then pieced together the functions, then adapted it to know how it all fit together. Before I met Finn and BB-8 and we stole the _Millenium Falcon_ , I had never actually flown a ship above atmosphere.”

Poe scoffed, “There’s no way. Even _I’m_ not that good, and I’m the best pilot in the Resistance.”

“I guess you’ve got some competition then, Dameron,” Rey said. She finally dropped Poe’s hand and rolled off the wall down the other side, tucking and rolling when she hit the ground. Poe rolled his eyes and hopped down after her.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Rey asked him when they were standing together at the bottom of the wall.

“We should probably go back inside,” Poe responded with a sigh. “Tonight is a night for celebration, but tomorrow preparations will have to be made for whoever is going to find Luke Skywalker.”

“I think I’m going to just turn in,” Rey said. She started walking away from the base and towards the _Falcon._

“You do know we have spare quarters you could use, right?” Poe said as she walked towards the dingy ship. He ran a few steps to catch up with her.

Her voice was low, sad. “I want to make sure that there’s someone on the ship with Chewie. It’s been a long time since he was alone.”

Poe closed his eyes against the memory of the sorrow on the General’s face when she found out about her husband’s death by her son’s hand. When he almost tripped on an uneven part of the concrete, Poe opened his eyes again.

He walked with Rey to the ramp of the _Falcon_ , where he leaned against the hydraulic lift. When Rey started up the ramp, he said, “What, I don’t even get a tour of the legendary _Millenium Falcon?_ You’re breaking a pilot’s heart here, Rey.”

She turned back, a grin on her face. “We’ll save that for when I drag the last Jedi back by his ancient ear, Dameron. Wouldn’t want to ruin the suspense of all the secrets this baby holds.” Rey fondly patted the hull. “Night, flyboy,” she called over her shoulder as she continued into the ship.

“Night, Jedi,” he called back, waiting a second before he turned and walked back to the base, where by this point someone had probably broken out whatever stashed alcohol they had. Faced with the possibility of celebrating, Poe chose instead to go to the infirmary and sit by Finn.

The doctors still had no idea if or when he would wake up, but Poe still hated the idea of him sitting alone until something happened. Before he knew it, Poe’s eyelids were feeling way too heavy and his head kept drooping off to the side. He wanted to stay awake, just in case Finn woke up, but sleep overtook him within moments.

***

When Rey woke up, she was surprised to see the bright sky and not feel the normal searing heat that came with it. All at once, the events of the past few days came back to her. She realized eventually that she was in the pilot’s seat of the _Millenium Falcon_ , her legs propped up on the control panel. She heard lumbering footsteps behind her. Chewie made a low, mournful noise when he saw her in the seat. It didn’t really translate in her head, but she guessed that it was the Wookie equivalent of a whimper.

“Morning, Chewie,” Rey said, turning in her seat to look at the creature.

‘ _Han used to sleep there sometimes,_ ’ Chewie said in Wookie.

“I’m sorry,” Rey whispered, getting out of the seat and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. She felt his arms come up around her and hug her back, and she smiled slightly into his fur.

She only broke the hug when she heard a droid beeping in the cargo bay. She recognized the noise as BB-8.

‘ _Friend-Rey!_ ’ The droid whirred into the cockpit, which wasn’t that big to begin with. It certainly wasn’t big enough for a human, a Wookie, and an astromech.

Rey squatted down to pat BB’s head. “What’s up, BB-8?”

‘ _General Organa requests the presences of both you and Chewbacca in the command center as soon as you’re able. I must find Master-Poe. Do you know where he may be?_ ’

“I’m sorry BB. I have no idea. I haven’t seen Poe since last night. Maybe he went to see Finn in the infirmary. I was going to do that this morning, but it can wait until after the meeting.”

‘ _Goodbye, Friend-Rey._ ’ BB-8 began to roll back through the ship.

“Bye, BB-8!”

***

Poe woke up with his head resting against Finn’s cot in the infirmary, BB-8 bumping his little head against his leg.

‘ _Master-Poe,_ ’ the little astromech beeped, ‘ _my readings suggested that this would be the best time in your sleep cycle to wake you up. General Organa requires your presence in the command center._ ’

“Thanks, buddy,” Poe said, patting BB-8 on the head before he got up and stretched, his spine popping in several places. _Maybe falling asleep on this damn chair wasn’t the best idea._

Before Poe could leave the room, one of the doctors whom Poe recognized, Doctor Kolonia, came in, data tablet in hand.

“Good to see you’re awake, Dameron,” she said. “Although now I have to tell you that it was rather stupid of you to sleep in here instead of your own bed. I know you’re worried for your friend, but it won’t do him any good if you wind up in here next to him.”

“Understood, Doc,” Poe said, walking out the door and down the halls to the command center. He stopped when he saw Rey just outside the door, far enough down the hall that no one could see her resting her head against the wall.

He slowly walked up to her, making his footfalls just loud enough that she could hear. She picked her head up off the wall. “Hey, Poe.” She smiled, but he could see that it was forced.

“Rey, what’s wrong?” he asked gently.

“I just need a second before I go in.”

“Ok.” He stood there with a hand resting gently on her shoulder until she took a deep breath, centering herself and straightening up.

“Let’s go.” Rey took the lead, striding into the command center with the same self-assurance she normally exuded.

Poe shook his head with a small smile and started after her.

When they were in the control room, Rey and Poe made a beeline directly for General Organa. He wasted no time. “What is it, General?”

“We’ll need to wait for the others, Dameron. I’d rather only have to do this once.”

Eventually, there was a collection of roughly two dozen individuals around General Organa, all chattering to each other and speculating what the meeting was about. Most had the general idea, but Leia called everyone to order before they could get any concrete ideas.

“You all know that we’ve obtained the entire map that leads to Luke Skywalker,” she started. “I know who I want to go on this mission, but if anyone has ideas, I’m open.”

Rey stepped forward into the circle of space for about three feet around the General. “You know I want to go. I think that I should take the _Falcon_ , R2-D2, and Chewie. We can have Master Jedi Skywalker back before you know it.”

Leia nodded. “That’s what I figured. Any objections or amendments?” she asked the room at large.

A human man stepped forward. He introduced himself to Rey, reaching forward to shake her hand. “Major Caluan Ematt.” He turned back to the room at large to say, “I, for one, think that we must send a larger force to accompany the _Falcon_. We have no idea how large the First Order has truly grown, nor how quickly they will recover from the destruction of Starkiller Base. The last thing we need is the total annihilation of not only the Jedi, but our only possible lead on how to defeat Kylo Ren.”

Poe stepped forward then. “All due respect, Major Ematt,” he said, “I think that your points are exactly why we cannot afford to spare more than the _Falcon_ to find Skywalker. We are not sure how long it will take the First Order to come after us, and now they know where our base is. There are many decisions to be made in the coming days, and we simply cannot send a large force.”

He turned to give Rey a reassuring nod. “Besides, I believe that Rey and Chewbacca are more than capable of bringing Skywalker back into the fold.”

Poe stepped back, having said his piece, and went to stand by Rey. Leia centered the attention back on her by saying, “Alright, we’ve heard from both parties; it’s time to vote. All those in favor of a larger force accompanying Rey and Chewie?”

A few weak ‘ _aye_ ’s were heard through the room.

“Those in favor of letting Rey and Chewie go on their own?”

The ‘ _aye_ ’s were practically deafening.

“It’s decided then.” Leia turned to look at Rey. “Can you have the _Falcon_ ready in a day or two?”

Rey nodded solemnly. “It’ll be ready to go by tomorrow.”

“Excellent. If you need anything, you can ask Commander Dameron.” She raised her voice to the dozens of soldiers around her, “As for you all, we’ve got plenty of work to do. There are fighters to be fixed, injured to attend to … funerals to plan. We must move on, but we will not forget the brave pilots who lost their lives to destroy Starkiller base. Dismissed!”

Most of the soldiers began to slowly amble towards the exits, glances cast over their shoulders, whispers that Rey could still faintly hear. “They don’t know about me. They don’t think I can do it,” she said to Poe, who was still by her side.

He crooked a grin at her. “I guess you’ll just have to prove them wrong, won’t you? Besides, I believe in you.” The look in his eyes told Rey that he meant it.

“Thanks,” she said simply. “Want to help me fix up the _Falcon?_ She needs a few patches in the hyperdrive, not to mention that the steering is a bit wonky. Chewie and I could use the help, if you’re not doing anything.”

“You mean I’ll get to see the famous _Millenium Falcon_ before you even leave? Yes!” Poe pumped his fist in the air, the most childish movement that Rey could imagine. And yet, somehow, it was extremely endearing when he did it.

“C’mon, flyboy,” she laughed, grabbing him by the wrist and leading him out of the command center, towards the _Falcon’_ s spot on the landing zone.

***

Three hours later, Poe finally crawled out from the belly of the _Falcon_ with a groan. Rey and Chewie had been running him ragged, demanding nothing but the best from not only him, but themselves. It was a bit of an adjustment, trying to work with Rey translating from Chewbacca to him, but the results paid off.

The hyperdrive was patched, the steering was probably better than it had been when Han first got it, not to mention the _dozens_ of little fixes they’d made to improve the efficiency, speed, and handling.

When they were finally done, Rey shoved Poe out the floor hatch before popping up triumphantly herself. She ran to the cockpit, checking the status of the dials on the control panels. Chewie came up behind her and said something that Poe didn’t understand.

“Yeah, everything looks good,” Rey responded to the Wookie. “I’ll need to take her up just to be sure. Do you want to come with? It’s ok if you don’t.”

The Wookie growled something else, then shook his head and walked out of the cockpit. Poe heard his lumbering footsteps down the ramp. “What did he say?” Poe asked gently.

“Just that he wasn’t ready to do it without Han yet.” Rey smiled through the tears welling in her eyes. “Do you want to come with me? I still need a copilot.”

“Let’s go,” Poe said excitedly, all but throwing himself into the copilot’s seat.

Rey laughed and sat down in the pilot’s seat, starting to flip the switches in the right order. The control panel lit up after a second, and Poe just stared in awe. Finally, Rey was satisfied with her pre-flight check, and she maneuvered the ship into the air.

Poe shot to his feet once they were in the air, his face practically smushed against the window. The look on his face was one of someone who had never flown before, and Rey had a small sense of pride that she was the one making him feel like this.

Finally, Poe sat down again, though the rapturous look on his face didn’t go away. Rey finally asked him, “Do you want to take over for a minute?”

“Me?” Poe asked incredulously, looking from the window to her.

“No, Poe, we have a stowaway that I figured would like to fly for a bit.” Her sass seemed to shake Poe out of his worship of the ship.

“Why not?” Despite his carefree attitude, Rey felt his nerves as she switched control from her side of the cockpit to his. He grabbed the steering controls and tested it out, moving the ship first one way, then the other.

“Good luck ever getting me out of here,” he said happily, maneuvering the ship so that she was in the upper atmosphere.

“Well, we really should check that the hyperdrive repairs work, so you’ll get to fly her a little bit more. I think we can make a quick hop to the nearest planet and back.”

“Wait, you mean that I can take the ship that did the Kessel Run in fifteen parsecs into hyperspeed?” Poe truly did sound like a child who had just been handed fifty credits and pushed into a candy shop.

“Twelve parsecs!” Rey said with mock indignation. “Ha—Chewie will have your head if he hears you talking like that.” Now Rey looked sad, so Poe did the one thing he knew how to do. He flew.

The ship burst through the atmosphere and into the void of space. Taking one last look at the navigation computer, he engaged the hyperdrive. Within seconds, they were at the next nearest planet in the Illenium system.

He whooped loudly, face lighting up. “This is amazing!”

Rey grinned at him. “Now don’t get so excited you hurt her. I _do_ need to keep her working long enough to find Skywalker and get back.”

“Speaking of getting back,” Poe sighed, “We probably should get back to the base. You’ll need to refuel and resupply before you head out.”

“Yeah.” Rey stared at her hands resting in her lap before finally making eye contact again with Poe. “Do you want me to take her back, or aren’t you ready to give up control yet?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to turn her over just yet.”

“Well-” Rey said playfully- “I guess we know the hyperdrive works. If you want, we can take the slow way back, maybe orbit the planet a few times?”

“Yes!” Poe grinned as he took hold of the controls, maneuvering the _Falcon_ til they were orbiting D’Qar. They stared at the lush green planet in comfortable silence. Without a word, Poe eventually brought the _Falcon_ into the atmosphere and looked to the navicomputer for direction.

As they landed, Poe said, “Well I guess when you get back, I’ll have to take you up to return the favor.”

“Return the favor?” Rey stood up and stretched in the tiny cockpit.

“Well, you taught me how to fly the infamous _Millenium Falcon_ , the least I can do is teach you how to fly an X-Wing.”

“Speaking of flying an X-Wing,” Rey shuffled back and forth on her feet, looking anywhere but at Poe, and finally blurted, “I was wondering … do you think General Organa would let me be a pilot?” She said the question in a rush, so much that Poe almost didn’t catch what she said.

Then she slowed down a bit, still not looking at him. “I mean, I’d get it if she didn’t, but I thought maybe I could split my time between Jedi training and piloting. From what I could tell with everyone stopping conversation the moment I enter a room, the Resistance is in need of both.”

Poe grinned, slouching against the doorframe. “That’s definitely something to bring up with the General, but yeah, I think it’s doable. We’ll have to see what happens with Luke, and it might be a few days of adjustment with Jedi training before you can start flying, but I can talk to the General for you if you want.”

“I’ll talk to her myself, but could you be there to back me up?” Rey bit her lip, still looking nervous despite Poe’s assurances.

“Of course.” Poe pulled up from the doorframe and started walking to the ramp. He stopped at what passed for the _Falcon’_ s med-bay. “Do you want to stock up before or after we talk to the General?”

“We might as well talk to her now, get it over with. I’d rather not get my hopes up only to have them dashed later.”

“Hey.” Poe turned and sat down on the cot, gently tugging Rey’s sleeve until she sat beside him, their knees brushing. “I told you, she’s probably going to give you permission. And if she doesn’t, I guess I’ll just have to train you on my own.”

Rey’s mouth dropped. “You would disobey General Organa just to train me?” She seemed amazed that anyone cared about her enough to do something like that.

“Well technically I wouldn’t be disobeying her,” he clarified, grin back in place, “If she says you can’t be part of the squadron, that doesn’t mean that I can’t teach a friend a few things. And besides, you never know what you might have to fly on a mission. It wouldn’t do to have our new Jedi prodigy stranded on some Force-forsaken planet like Tattoine. Although you’re probably used to the heat and the sand, aren’t you?”

Rey rolled her eyes, grabbing Poe’s arm and standing up. “C’mon, flyboy. Let’s go see the General.”

***

When they reached the command center, General Organa was talking with Admiral Statura. “I understand your concerns, Admiral, but I have faith in the girl.” She glanced over Statura’s shoulder and saw Poe and Rey awkwardly standing a few paces away. “Excuse me for a moment.”

She walked past him, letting out a sigh once she was out of earshot. “Thank you both for coming now. Statura is the third officer whom I’ve had to try and convince that sending the entire fleet is a terrible idea.”

Poe laughed, “Another reason I’m glad I’m not in your shoes. I couldn’t deal with that all the time.”

“What do you need, Rey?” The small smile was still on Leia’s face, but she had regained her normal serious air.

Poe saw Rey’s jaw work for a second before she said, “I was wondering if I could start pilot training once I bring Master Skywalker back. I still want to be a Jedi, of course, but I don’t want that to be the _only_ thing I am.”

Poe nodded when Leia sought his approval.

“It’s decided then,” the older woman said decisively. “You’ll have to talk to Luke, of course, but I doubt he’ll say no. He always was the mellow one.” She reached out to Rey and rested her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. “Bring him home, and you’ll have full run of the base. You’re already a hero, but you could be on the fast track to being an officer. I just want my brother home.”

Rey didn’t know what it was in that moment, but she leaned forwards, not thinking about the words that spilled from her mouth, “You have the Force, don’t you? I thought I felt it earlier, but I’m not very good at this yet. You’ve felt him. Anyone else would have given up after almost 15 years, but you know he’s still alive.”

Poe looked taken aback, but Leia was calm, unsurprised. “I do. I chose not to pursue it so that I could fight for peace and help rebuild after the last war, but I’m good at sensing emotions, which was actually pretty useful for a senator. And I can feel major shifts: entire systems being destroyed, the slaughter of Luke’s padawans, the moment Han died. It’s more of a curse than a blessing, but at least I know Luke is still alive.”

“I’m sorry.” There were no words to truly say what Rey felt at that moment, her sorrow that Leia had only seen the darker parts of the Force mingled with her elation that there was another Force-sensitive person right by her. “I’ll do whatever it takes to bring your brother back.”

“I appreciate it, Rey. Is there anything else you need from me? If the _Falcon_ still needs repairs, I can have a team look at it.”

“Poe, Chewie, and I have got her in tip-top shape already. I think we just need to refuel and resupply, and we should be ready to go by noon tomorrow.”

“Alright. Just grab one of the ground crew members to refuel her and Poe can show you where to get supplies.”

***

Resupply was more difficult than Rey had anticipated.

“I don’t know, Poe!” she exclaimed when presented with four different varieties of food rations. “I’ve eaten the exact same thing every day for the past _fifteen years_ of my life. I have absolutely no opinion on the type of food I get to eat.”

“ _What?_ ” she asked when she saw his astonished look.

“The exact same thing?” He leaned against the shelf they were standing next to in the supply room. “No variety whatsoever?”

“Well Jakku wasn’t exactly overflowing with places I could forage, nor were there any animals worth hunting. My only way of getting food was selling what parts I could scavenge from old cruisers that had crashed during the war against the Empire.”

Poe said no more about the conditions she had lived in, instead pulling himself away from the shelf so that he could grab ration packets off it. “Well you don’t want that one-” he pointed to one row in particular- “that type is better suited for long missions because it keeps better, but it tastes like bantha kark. You’ll only be gone a week at the most, so you should only need about twenty-five for you, twenty-five for Chewie, and maybe ten for Skywalker if you have to take a while getting back.”

He grabbed four boxes of rations for Rey and Luke and three boxes for Chewie, setting them by the entrance to the stock room. They walked down the next row of shelves looking for the medical kits for humanoid lifeforms. Of course when they found them, they were on the very top shelf, just _barely_ out of Poe’s reach. After about thirty seconds of embarrassing tip-toes trying to grab a kit, Poe sighed and looked to Rey for help. “Got any Jedi tricks up your sleeve?”

Rey grinned and lifted her hands, closing her eyes. As her hands moved, so did two kits. She moved them up and off the shelf, but when Poe coughed, she lost her concentration and the heavy kits dropped like a sack of rocks … right overtop of Poe’s head. She didn’t have time to use the Force to move the kits, so Rey tackled Poe to get him out of the way.

Poe looked slightly green when he heard the heavy, dull _thud_ of the ration kits hitting the floor. “Thanks,” he breathed, his face rather close to Rey’s.

“You’re welcome.” She pushed off his shoulders to put more than a few inches between their faces. That was when she noticed that she was essentially straddling him: chests pressed together, legs tangled.

“Oh, kriff,” she scrambled off him, distancing herself and tucking a strand of hair that had come loose behind her ear. “Sorry. I didn’t—I didn’t mean to get that close.”

“I think I’ll forgive you,” Poe teased, “You were saving my life, or at least saving me from a very nasty trip to the medbay.”

His disarming nature made Rey stop shuffling her feet, turning to pick up the heavy medkits. “Well, now that that adventure is done with, what else do we need?”

***

Soon, the _Falcon_ was fully stocked, and there was nothing left to do for the day except eat. And Rey was putting that off, not ready to face what was sure to be an _unusual_ experience. She was beneath the floorboards of the _Falcon_ when Poe came to look for her.

“Rey, what are you doing? Did we miss something that needs fixing?”

“I’m just tinkering,” Rey replied, popping her head up from the belly of the ship. “I’ll be there in a minute. You don’t have to wait for me.”

Poe heard her stomach growl. “I know you haven’t eaten anything since we grabbed the last two ration packs on the ship while we were working, and that was almost eight hours ago.” He saw the nervous look in her eye and said, “If you come now you won’t have to face the mess hall alone. We can even stop and see Finn after dinner, I know you haven’t been to see him all day.”

Rey reluctantly climbed out of the floor, setting the covering back into place. “Let’s get this over with.” She strode off the _Falcon_ , putting on a confident air that Poe knew was a lie.

***

The mess hall was even more hectic than Rey had expected. Even though it was almost nine o’clock D’Qar time, at least a quarter of the Resistance was either in line for food or already sitting at the tables lined up in the enormous room.

Poe led her to the food line, quietly explaining everything to her as the moved closer to the front of the line. “Dinner runs from five until ten local time, so that the shifts change in the middle and everyone has a chance to eat. You can choose one type of meat, one grain, two fruits, a vegetable, and a dessert. Not all of it is that great, but most of it is palpable at least. Our cooks do the best they can with what we can get. You want to steer clear of anything that has a layer of breading on the top, though. Some of the non-humanoids like whatever’s in it, but it makes me gag.”

They finally started down the line, Poe still speaking softly in her ear, offering his suggestions. Rey wound up with a slice of some sort of meat she had never heard of, a roll that looked fluffier than any of her portions on Jakku, two shurra fruits, some strange vegetable, and a slice of blue cake.

“The cake is made with Bantha milk,” Poe explained as they found a mostly-empty table to claim. There were a few people in mechanics’ jumpsuits at the other end of the table. Poe nodded to them, and they nodded back at the two of them before turning to whisper to each other.

Rey sighed, absently tossing her roll between her hands. Poe stopped her with a hand on her wrist, using his other hand to gently tilt her head so that she looked at him. “Don’t pay any attention to them,” he insisted. “People are going to talk about you, there’s not a lot you can do to stop it. Besides throw a rage fit, and that seems like more of a Kylo Ren move,” he teased.

After a few more seconds of intense eye contact, Poe seemed to realize that he was still caressing Rey’s chin, long fingers wrapped around her jaw. He coughed, drawing his hands back across the table.

They ate their meals with a comfortable air surrounding them, despite the fact that Rey could feel people’s stares burning into her from all angles. Finally, their trays were empty, and they could think of nothing else to say.

“I should probably get going.” Rey stood up, grabbing her tray and shoving her other hand into her pocket. “I’m going to see Finn and then I’d better check that everything is ready on the _Falcon_.”

Poe sighed and stood as well. “I have to meet with General Organa, otherwise I’d see Finn with you. I’ll see him as soon as I’m able.”

“Well, you’d better not sleep in that sithspit chair next to him again.”

Poe raised an eyebrow in question.

“BB-8 told me after the meeting this morning. You know that the healers will come get us the moment he wakes up, you need your rest. I suspect you’ll all be having an interesting few days while I’m retrieving Skywalker.”

“I’ll be sure to leave some of the excitement for when you get back,” Poe teased.

“I’m sure I’ll have enough excitement between Jedi training and flying lessons, don’t go out of your way to make my life even more difficult.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Poe gave a mock-salute and a smirk as Rey turned on her heel to put her tray on the conveyer belt.

***

True to his word, Poe only visited with Finn for a bit before going to sleep in his own quarters. But when he woke in the morning to his faithful droid banging against his bedframe, Poe felt even worse than he had after sleeping in that awful chair. It wasn’t any sort of physical pain, but an … emotional one.

As he probed why he felt this worry and pain, his dreams came back to him in a rush, just as they did every morning since his escape from Starkiller Base. But they weren’t the normal dreams of his home planet being destroyed, or of his squad being massacred. No, this set of dreams starred Rey.

The first started with Rey running through the woods with Finn. It was the exact scene she had told him about, the confrontation with Kylo Ren. But this time, it wasn’t Ren’s face that got sliced open. It was Rey. From the start of this dream-fight, it was obvious who was going to win. Just as Ren raised his lightsaber above Rey’s head, the dream switched.

This time, it was Rey standing on the bridge above the chasm with Ren. It was Rey who pleaded with him, not to return, but to spare her life. It was Rey who grabbed the lightsaber hilt only to die a swift, merciless death, red blade emerging through white garments. Just as dream-Poe tried to scream, the dream changed again.

Now his incorporeal form was behind a small child, who ran after a cloaked form as they strode to a speeder, begging the shrouded visage not to leave her. Something told him that this was Rey, just as she had been left. This image repeated again and again, and somehow seemed more awful than the two death-visions he’d seen.

Just recounting his dreams left a sheen of sweat on Poe’s brow, one that he wiped away quickly. He stood on shaky legs and went to the sink to wash his face. Once he had composed himself, he went to the mess hall. When he was through the line and looking for a place to sit, he noticed that the hall was almost full.

 _Odd, normally everyone eats later than this,_ he thought. Then he remembered that today wasn’t normal. Everyone would want to see Rey and Chewie off on their mission to reclaim the last Jedi. _Speaking of Rey._ Poe spotted the scavenger sitting off on her own again with a buffer of at least two seats in every direction.

There weren’t a lot of options for seats anyways, but even if the entire hall had been empty, Poe still would have sat next to Rey. He was sure to let his footfalls be heard, he’d been warned by BB-8 that she could hold her own when it came to fight, and he certainly didn’t want to startle her. _Speaking of BB-8 though…._

“I never did thank you for taking care of BB-8, did I?” he said in lieu of a greeting. Rey shook her head, and Poe grimaced. “I’m sorry. BB-8 told me what you did for him. Thank you for taking care of my wingman.”

“Of course, it was no trouble,” Rey replied.

“But it was,” Poe insisted. “BB-8 told me about Unkar Plutt. You would’ve starved just to keep him with you. You didn’t sell him, which I know a lot of people would’ve. I wouldn’t even blame you. Sixty portions could keep you fat and happy for months. So really, _thank you._ ”

Poe sensed her discomfort, and sent her a small grin as he lightened the mood. “BB also told me about how you beat the shit out of the goons that tried to grab him. Not going to lie, I would’ve liked to see that.”

“If you never tick me off, you won’t experience it personally. If I can’t stop hearing people’s thoughts about me, I might kick someone.”

“Wait, you’re hearing thoughts now? When did this happen? Is it everyone’s thoughts or just some of them?” Poe leaned closer, keeping his words quiet but excited.

“It started this morning. It must be proximity-based, but there’s a pretty wide radius. So far, I’m only catching the occasional thought, but a lot of people are thinking about me.” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“The female at one o’clock, she doesn’t think that I can possibly be a Jedi, that I must be tricking everyone. The male four seats to your left, he thinks that whether or not I’m any good to the Resistance, at least I’m giving him ‘something new to look at.’ There’s a person or two who think that I’m going to fail completely and totally when I try to bring Skywalker back. At least two women are worried that they aren’t going to be the most attractive on base anymore, of _all_ the things to think about in the middle of a war.”

Poe stared at her for a minute before any sort of thought came to him. “Wait, have you been reading my mind at all today?”

Rey’s brow furrowed. “For some reason, I’m not really getting anything off of you. I’m not really controlling this though, so it could just be a Force glitch.”

“Wait, a Force glitch? Is that something that actually happens?”

“I have no idea, flyboy. Most of what I know about the Force is scraps of myth overheard on Jakku, the rest was from that whole thirty seconds at Maz Kanata’s before the First Order ruined everything. I _have_ to find Skywalker. If I don’t, things could get very bad for me.”

“What do you mean?” Poe asked.

Rey seemed to zone out for a second, her tray and utensils levitating. When Poe touched her shoulder, the glazed look left her eyes, and the tray clattered to the table, silverware rattling on top of it. “That’s what I mean.”

“How long have you been levitating things without meaning to?”

“It started yesterday while we were working on the _Falcon_. You and Chewie were in a different compartment, and all of the wrenches floated around me. I couldn’t help it, it only stopped when you stubbed your toe on something and cursed loud enough to break the trance. It’s happened twice this morning too. Between this and the mind-reading, maybe it’s not the worst that I’ll be getting away from the base for a few days. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Poe covered Rey’s hand on the table between them, stopping the slight tremors wracking her. “You wouldn’t do that anyways, Rey. I’ve only known you a couple of days, but I know you wouldn’t hurt someone who didn’t deserve it.”

Rey smiled at him, but after a second she jerked back, ears and cheeks flaming.

“What is it?” Poe asked with a quizzical tilt to his head.

“Nothing,” Rey mumbled, burying her face in her sleeves.

Poe pulled her hands away from her face after a second. “C’mon, what is it?”

“I caught another stray thought.” Poe just waited. Rey sighed. “A lady behind us thought _‘how is it that she’s only been here two days and she’s already got him eating out of the palm of her hand’_. There, happy?”

Poe scratched his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, that has to be pretty awkward.”

“You have no idea,” Rey muttered from behind her sleeves.

***

The moment was finally upon him, and Poe was freaking out. “Are you sure you have everything, Rey?” he asked, running his gaze over her as if to assure himself that she was going to be fine.

“For the fifth and _last_ time, I have absolutely everything I could possibly need for this mission, flyboy. I’ll be back before you know it.” Rey gave him a quick hug before she could think better of it, and moved on to Leia. She could think of nothing to say to the woman, and so turned to the _Falcon._

But just before she could take the first step, Leia spoke. “Rey.” Rey turned back to her. “May the Force be with you.” With a smile on her face, Rey started her journey to find Luke.

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, I cannot stress how comment-hungry I am. Thanks for putting up with my 7500-word nonsense!! Love you lovelies!!!


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